Channel 12 News (KPNX-TV) has split off from AzCentral after a 14-year partnership, and now hopes people visit its own site. The station will clearly struggle to draw a respectable amount of traffic to its site, 12News.com, for years to come. One big help would be an immediate improvement to…
A Yavapai County anti-legalization group that claims marijuana use lowers IQ seems to be in need of an IQ boost itself. MATFORCE, a coalition of cops and business leaders led by County Attorney Sheila Polk, put up at least one billboard in the Phoenix area recently that contains an incorrect…
A deal between Arizona State University and edX, a nonprofit Internet firm, aims to give future freshmen the option to take their first year entirely in MOOCs. The announcement by edX and ASU comes after a flurry of news articles last year critical of the “massive open online courses,” which…
Sankey Jim Reid of Kayenta was sentenced to 35 years in a federal prison last week for the brutal rape and murder of his friend’s 18-year-old girlfriend. As New Times reported last year, an FBI investigation showed Reid, 31, raped Nix anally in April 2014 after driving her to a…
For centuries, Linda Thomas’ ancestors walked this rugged landscape near modern-day Superior as she does today. “We have always harvested acorns and berries and had ceremonies here,” says Thomas, who lives in the small Apache town of San Carlos about 50 miles away. “My granddaughter won’t be able to come…
Larry Klayman, a lawyer who claimed he’d been defamed by two newspapers, including Phoenix New Times, lost his case in a recent ruling by a Florida federal judge. Quoting frequently from Alice in Wonderland, U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway concluded in her 34-page decision that Klayman’s case failed to…
Infamous boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias was sentenced today to spend the rest of her natural life in prison for the 2008 slaying of Travis Alexander. The sentence handed down by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens comes after two juries deadlocked on whether Arias deserved a death sentence. Stephens could…
A Cottonwood police dash-cam video released today shows the chaos of a deadly March 21 melee between cops and a “close-knit” Idaho family of eight. Enoch Graver, 21, was shot fatally by police in the brawl, and his 18-year-old brother was shot in the abdomen. Police Sergeant Jeremy Daniels was…
Raul Castro, the first and only Hispanic to serve as Arizona’s governor, has died at age 98. In a Facebook message last year in support of David Garcia as state Superintendent of Public Instruction that it was “hard to believe” that since being elected 40 years ago, “no other Latino…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week, we look for the folks…
Videos released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office show a jail inmate beating up multiple detention officers and the foul interior of a Wittman hoarder’s home. Both are newsworthy and, well, just darned interesting to watch. In the first, shot two weeks ago by a surveillance video in the Lower…
A hiker shot at South Mountain Park in February had been on a maintained trail just south of a public shooting range, the man’s lawyer says. The bullet passed through the right leg of Thomas Sawyer, 35, and lodged in his left thigh. He’s recovering. But his lawyer, Garvey Biggers,…
Maricopa County will pay $3.5 million for one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s mishandled rape investigations. The county Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Wednesday to approve the settlement for a Valley family who sued in Superior Court over the botched case. The case of Sabrina Morrison was one of hundreds…
Three Valley strip clubs are being sued by exotic dancers with the help of a Texas law firm over alleged unpaid tips and wages. The various plaintiffs in the cases are being represented by Kennedy Hodges LLP of Houston, which is engaged in dozens of similar cases across the United…
Don’t expect any apology from Stewart Ferrin. The former Arizona State University police officer regrets nothing about the way he handled the arrest last year of assistant professor Ersula Ore. Not the way he threatened to slam her into his patrol car or how he arrested her for what many…
The chances of a successful marijuana-legalization initiative in Arizona for 2016 appear to have diminished due to fighting among two competing political groups. As we reported on March 27, the Marijuana Policy Project of Arizona was surprised by the sudden launch of a competing 2016 campaign by their chairperson, Dr…
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in two cases today that prosecutors can’t ban people on parole or probation from using medical marijuana. Because medical marijuana is a medicine when used under the state’s voter-authorized program, the court stated in its opinions, patients should be allowed to use it — even…
U.S. Senator John McCain will run again for the position he’s held since 1987, telling a local newspaper he has “a lot more to do” for Arizona and the country. Sure he does. And the 78-year-old will likely be reelected, too — in 2010, he kicked Democrat Rodney Glassman’s butt…
A new website launched two weeks ago by disgraced Arizona politician Andrew Thomas about the “threat” of ISIS appears to be defunct. Thomas, ignominiously disbarred in April of 2012 after abusing his power as Maricopa County Attorney, last year wasted $750,000 in Clean Elections cash for his failed bid for…
A new reward is being offered in the 1995 case of an Amtrak train that derailed in the desert south of Phoenix, killing one person and injuring 100 more. The FBI and Amtrak announced today that up to $310,000 will be handed out for information leading to the arrest and…
For years, Eric Antuan James has used his life story of going from Missouri gang member to Arizona school principal to motivate kids. Now he’s teaching kids about hypocrisy and betrayal. Last week, James agreed to plead guilty to stealing from an impoverished Indian community school and using the funds…
The prestigious Columbia Journalism School is offering a one-sided, two-day training camp about guns next month in Phoenix for select reporters across the country. “Covering Guns and Gun Violence,” hosted by the school’s Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and funded by ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, offers 30…
